Impossible to Return

Neon Fun

Frank ate his breakfast alone, for once not tasting how good it was. The house elves had outdone themselves as usual, but the food all seemed bland to him.

His thoughts kept darting to the memory of the fight, and his eyes kept finding his friends over and over again at their own house tables. Piper chatting excessively with a group of girls Frank had seen once or twice in the corridors; Nico at the farthest table from him, silently sitting beside Rosier and Malfoy; Percy making the Marauders laugh with a few jokes and stories; Annabeth in a deep discussion with a bespectacled Ravenclaw girl; Jason entering the Great Hall side by side with two boys wearing blue and bronze ties; Hazel nowhere to be found.

Frank wondered if they were happy now. Maybe they had felt their old friendship was holding them back and they'd now be free. Or maybe they were as heartbroken as him, but didn't want to show it.

Frank wished it hadn't happened. Or at the very least, a fellow demigod was in Hufflepuff with him. Frank had been secretly thinking Percy might get into Hufflepuff before they arrived at Hogwarts— after all, he is very loyal. But his massive amounts of bravery must have outnumbered that and ended up leaving Frank alone in Hufflepuff.

Being alone in his house made this fight even harder. He didn't have anyone to talk to, unlike all of the other demigods. Though it did seem that his ex-friends that did share houses weren't doing much talking.

The only person he knew in all of Hufflepuff was Rachel Lyne, a girl with purple hair and dark eyes. She was a friend he had sort of slowly developed a friendship with, but she was always busy with Quidditch and liked being on her own. She was very independent.

She had been here, eating in the Great Hall with him, less then ten minutes ago. But she had said he was 'too glum and depressed', told him she was going to help him, and then left. Frank didn't see how leaving him in the depths of his misery was supposed to help anything.

"You're Frank Zhang, right?"

Frank looked up and saw two other Hufflepuffs standing there. One seemed to be a fifth year, with a prefect badge pinned on her uniform—she wasn't the one who had spoken. The other boy looked older than her and Frank figured he was in the year below himself, because he would share a dormitory with Frank if he was the same age.

Frank nodded, and ate a spoonful of cold cereal, wondering why these two younger students were talking to him.

The girl smiled brightly, her eyes lighting up. She sat down across from him, and the boy followed. She stuck out her hand. "I'm Kori Kimber Mustard."

Frank shook it. She had an interesting name—but maybe he just thought that because she had introduced herself using her full name.

"Eric Hoover." The other boy said running a hand through and then flipping his head of brown hair, even though his hair was gelled in place.

Frank felt like he should introduce himself, even though they already knew his name. "I'm Frank Zhang."

"Well Frank, do you like bowling?" Kimber asked, leaning her elbows on the table.

"What?" Frank asked, looking back and forth between the two.

Eric stretched out his arms and yawned. "Rachel said you were sad, and asked if we could cheer you up."

So that's why Rachel disappeared, and why they were talking to him. But that didn't clear up everything.

"What does that have to do with bowling?" Frank asked, stabbing his scrambled eggs.

Kori looked like she was going to burst with excitement. "We're having a bowling night in the common room, and were wondering if you wanted to join us."